Stator lamination with alignment structure for controlled skewing
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is well known in the art that dynamoelectric machines generally include a stator and rotor, with one typical design including a cylindrical rotor which rotates within an annular stator. Also, it is well known that such a stator will include a plurality of windings comprising electrical wire which are laid in a plurality of channels formed by winding slots along the inner periphery of a plurality of stacked annular plate-type stator laminations. 
     Performance of the dynamoelectric machine of this design can be improved by skewing the stator, i.e. angularly re-positioning successive laminations from the top to the bottom of the lamination stack. Typically, the entire stack of laminations will be skewed one slot width, such that the top lamination is re-positioned one slot clockwise or counterclockwise from the corresponding slot in the lamination at the bottom of the stack, with the intervening laminations making a graduated transition between these two end positions. 
     In the prior art, automatic insertion type winding machines for automatically winding the stator slots require that the slots be aligned and that the stator be non-skewed. As best known to the inventor herein, there are no automatic insertion type winding machines which can automatically wind a skewed stator lamination stack with skewed winding slots. Thus, it is presently the practice to manufacture stators by first stacking the laminations in a concentric, aligned fashion, for winding, each of the laminations having a pair of slots with the slots positioned at opposite sides of the lamination and near the outer periphery thereof. These slots are generally circular slots and align as the laminations are stacked. A pair of pins or bolts are typically used to position the laminations as they are stacked such that the slots in the laminations are fit over the bolts as the laminations are stacked. 
     With the stack of laminations thus formed, the winding slots align to create a substantially straight, tunnel-like, winding channel for automatic insertion of the windings. After the stator is wound, pressure is applied to opposite sides of the bolts in a direction tangential to the stator, and at opposite ends thereof, which thus skews the laminations into the desired orientation. After skewing, the stator is welded and the bolts are then removed. 
     Although this technique works satisfactorily for smaller size stators, i.e. stators below a 280 frame size, this technique will not work for larger stators. There are several reasons for this, perhaps the most important of which is that the alignment bolts must &#34;go over the hill&#34;. By that is meant that the bolts must generally twist in a helical fashion with the center of the bolts moving radially outwardly and the ends of each bolt rotating with respect to each other. This contortion of the bolt is caused by the fact that the slots in each of the laminations remain the same radial distance from the center of the stack as the laminations are skewed, so that the series of slots transforms from a straight line into an arc. As the bolt remains within the series of slots, the bolt must contort to follow this transformation in the slot pattern. The bolts which hold the laminations in alignment must thus be rigid enough to maintain the alignment of the laminations, but at the same time flexible enough to accommodate the helical contortion placed on it. For the larger frame sizes, this combination of rigidity and flexibility is virtually impossible to achieve. Therefore, for this and other reasons, the larger frame sizes are typically wound by hand after the lamination stack has been assembled in a skewed orientation. 
     It should be also noted that the inventor herein is aware of the fact that skewed rotors have been produced in the prior art. Those rotors of which the inventor is aware utilized plate-type laminations much as with the stator design discussed herein, except that there was no winding of the rotors with electrical wire and the rotor laminations were initially stacked in a skewed orientation (much as is presently done for larger frame size stators, as described above). In order to maintain the alignment of the individual laminations as they were stacked in a skewed orientation, rotor laminations were made with elliptical slots on opposite sides thereof such that they could be slipped over a pair of alignment bolts. However, it should be emphasized that these rotor laminations were initially assembled in a skewed orientation, were not wound with electrically conductive wire, and thus the alignment slots did not teach or suggest that they would provide any advantage in transforming a stack of concentrically oriented laminations into a stack of skewed laminations. 
     In order to solve these problems inherent in the prior art with manufacturing skewed stators, and especially for larger frame sizes, the inventor herein has succeeded in developing an alignment structure and technique which permit stacking of stator laminations in an aligned fashion, with the laminations being stacked concentrically to facilitate winding by automatic winding equipment, and then skewing the wound lamination stack in a controlled manner in such a way as to eliminate any contortion of bolts. Therefore, for the first time, a stator lamination stack may be automatically wound and then skewed for the larger frame size dynamoelectric machines which were heretofore first skewed and then hand wound. 
     In a first embodiment, alignment bolts are used with the stator laminations each having a pair of alignment slots which are generally elliptical in shape. Thus, as the laminations are stacked over the bolts, they are held in concentric alignment for winding, and then opposing tangential forces exerted at the ends of the bolts which skew the stator. In the skewing process, the slot permits controlled relative movement between the laminations and the bolts in a radial direction such that there is no relative force exerted on the bolts by the laminations, or vice versa. Instead, the bolt is free to move within the generally elliptical slot. In order to increase the bearing surface and facilitate their relative sliding movement, flats may be formed along opposite sides of the bolt to match the sides of the slots. To the extent that flats are used, the length of the elliptical alignment slots should be increased by the length of each flat. Although desirable, it is not believed that the flats are necessary to achieve the controlled skewing without contortion of the alignment bolts. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the alignment slots are not used but instead projections are formed on opposite sides of each lamination such that they align as the laminations are stacked concentrically. In order to ensure that the laminations remain concentric, alignment channels may be used to maintain the projections in their proper orientation for concentric alignment. Then, in order to skew, the channels are pivoted, with the outer walls of the projections and the inner walls of the channel being formed at such an angle that the projections may move radially with respect to the channel, with the projections canting as they are skewed. Depending upon the position of the particular stator lamination with respect to the stack, the projections will retract from within the channel and cant, but will always remain in contact with the mouth of the channel such that they are physically restrained thereby and held in place. Thus, controlled relative movement in a radial direction and canting is permitted between the channel and the projections in order to achieve a uniformly skewed stator. 
     While the principal advantages and features of the present invention have been briefly described above, a fuller understanding of the invention may be attained by referring to the drawings and detailed description of the preferred embodiment which follow. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an end view of a stator for a dynamoelectric machine; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line 2--2 in FIG. 2 and detailing the wound stator; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial view of a portion of a stator lamination showing the alignment slot of the present invention;, 
     FIG. 4 is a partial side view of a stator showing windings A and B inserted through winding slots in the stator laminations; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial side view similar to FIG. 4 except after the stator laminations have been skewed by one winding slot over the height of the stator lamination stack; 
     FIG. 6 is a partial side view of a stator lamination with the alignment bolt inserted through the stack of stator laminations with skewing blocks surrounding the ends of the alignment bolt; 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of the stator similar to FIG. 6 except that the alignment bolt has been skewed by the skewing blocks; 
     FIG. 8a is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line 8a in FIG. 7 detailing the relative positions of the alignment bolt and slot at one end of the stack of stator laminations; 
     FIG. 8b is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line 8b in FIG. 7 detailing the relative positions between the alignment bolt and the alignment slot near the midpoint of the stator lamination stack; 
     FIG. 8c is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line 8c in FIG. 7 detailing the relative positions between the alignment bolt and the alignment slot near the top of the stator lamination stack; 
     FIG. 9 is a partial view of a stator lamination including an alignment projection of the second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 10 is a partial side view of a stator lamination stack with a channel member fitted over the projections extending from the stack of stator laminations; 
     FIG. 11 is a partial side view of a stator lamination similar to that of FIG. 10 except after the channel member has been used to skew the stator laminations; 
     FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line 12--12 in FIG. 11 and detailing the relative position between the channel member and the stator lamination projections; 
     FIG. 13a is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line 13a in FIG. 12 detailing the relative positions between the projection of a stator lamination near one end of the stator lamination stack and the channel member; 
     FIG. 13b is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line 13b in FIG. 12 detailing the relative positions between a projection near the midpoint of the stator lamination stack and the channel member; and 
     FIG. 13c is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line 13c in FIG. 12 detailing the relative positions between the channel member and a projection for a stator lamination near the other end of the stator lamination stack. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A stator 20 is shown in overall view in FIGS. 1 and 2 and comprise a plurality of plate-type laminations 22 each of which have one or more alignment slots 24 or radial projections 26 in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. The stator 20 is wound with a plurality of turns of electrical wire 28 inserted through a plurality of winding slots 30 (FIG. 3) which are oriented along the inner periphery of the annular plate-type lamination 22. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the winding slots 30 align to form a tunnel-like winding channel 32 for insertion therethrough of the electrical wire 28 comprising the winding. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the stator lamination stack is skewed by one winding slot to thereby create a skewed stator. After the stator laminations are oriented in the manner shown in FIG. 5, the laminations are welded and fixed in final position. 
     As shown in FIGS. 6-8, alignment bolts 34 are inserted through the alignment slots 24 in a stack of concentrically aligned laminations 22 for purposes of aligning the laminations 22 and holding them in place while the stator stack is wound. After winding, opposing tangential forces are exerted, such as by end blocks 36, against the ends of bolt 34 to re-align the stator laminations in a skewed orientation as exemplified by FIGS. 5 and 7. In doing so, the bolt 34 moves radially with respect to the laminations and is oriented as best shown in FIGS. 8a-8c. At the ends of the stack, or top and bottom of the stack, respectively, the bolt 34 is positioned at the top of alignment slot 24 as best shown in FIGS. 8a and 8c. However, at the approximate midpoint of the lamination stack, the alignment bolt 34 is positioned at the bottom of the alignment slot 24. Although it is difficult to show in the drawings, as suggested by FIGS. 8a-8c, the alignment bolt 34 may have flats 38 on either side thereof which provide a bearing surface against the sides 40 of alignment slot 24. This facilitates movement of the alignment bolt 34 within the slot 24 and ensures a smoother and more reliable skew between the laminations 22. Also, although difficult to depict in the drawings, FIGS. 8a-8c suggest that the alignment bolt 34 must contort in approximate helical fashion in order to follow the difference in canting between the alignment slots 24 shown in FIGS. 8a and 8c. To the extent that the alignment bolt 34 is sized to fit closely within the slot 24, there will be some small amount of helical contortion experienced by the bolt 34. However, such contortion shall be dramatically reduced over that as is experienced in the prior art with the same alignment bolt as used in a circular alignment slot. 
     The inventor hereof envisions the use of the present invention with dynamoelectric machines having the following parameters: 
     
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O.D.     Stack     Rotor                                                  
Stator   Height    Diameter  Frame  KW                                    
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2 pole 12&#34;                                                                
         2&#34;-9&#34;     6 1/2&#34;    280    10-50                                 
4 pole 11 3/4&#34;                                                            
         2&#34;-9&#34;     7 3/4&#34;    280    10-50                                 
15 1/2&#34;  4&#34;-13 1/2&#34;                                                       
                   10 1/8&#34;   360     50-150                               
19 1/2&#34;  7&#34;-19 1/2&#34;                                                       
                   13&#34;       440    150-400                               
24&#34;      12&#34;-26&#34;   16 1/2&#34;   580     400-1000                             
______________________________________                                    
 
    
     As can be appreciated, in the largest sizes, the lamination stack height approaches twenty-six inches with an outside diameter for the stator lamination of twenty-four inches in a 580 frame size for up to a 1000kw dynamoelectric machine. These are substantially large machines which would be quite difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to wind by hand versus using the present invention for automatic winding and skewing. 
     In a second embodiment of the present invention, the radial projections 26 as shown in the stator lamination 22 of FIG. 9, may be used in cooperation with a channel member 42 as shown in FIG. 10 to the same purpose. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the channel member 42 can be used to position the successive laminations 22 in a vertical stack in a concentric orientation for initial stacking and winding. Subsequent to stacking and winding, as shown in FIG. 11, the channel member 42 may then be used to skew the laminations by pivoting the channel member 42 about the approximate mid-point of the stack in a manner very similar to that as used with the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, after the lamination stack has been skewed, there has been relative radial movement between the channel member 42 and various ones of the laminations 22. More specifically, these end points of the lamination stack are shown in FIGS. 13a-c. As shown therein, channel member 42 has a pair of canted sidewalls 44 which provide a bearing surface against which the radial projection may come to rest at the end of its skew. Also, channel member 42 has a mouth opening 46 which determines the width of the radial projection 26 and, when combined with the angle of skew, determines the angle for slope of the sidewall 48 of the projection 26. In other words, as the radial projection 26 moves radially relative to the channel member 42, it also pivots or cants such that the mouth opening 46 must always correspond to the width of the radial projection 26 inserted therethrough. Obviously, if the radial projection has sidewalls 48 formed at an incorrect angle and which do not match the channel member sidewalls 44, then either binding or slippage could occur between channel member 42 and various ones of the laminations 22 which would result in either an improperly skewed stator or damage to the stator laminations and/or channel member. 
     There are various changes and modifications which may be made to the invention as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. However, these changes or modifications are included in the teaching of the disclosure, and it is intended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.